It is well known to display advertisements, made of one or more graphical components before, during or after a television program or film. For example, a television program may be spliced into a plurality of segments and advertising components may be displayed in between spliced segments, before the television program and after the television program. However, the splicing of a program into segments deteriorates a consumers viewing pleasure when watching the program. Accordingly, this type of intrusive placement of advertising components is not popular with consumers. In addition, the introduction of digital television set-top boxes, such as Sky Plus from BSkyB, means that a consumer can skip or fast forward advertising components. This reduces the amount of revenue generated by the placement of advertising components.
It is also known to place advertising components strategically within a shot when recording a television program or film. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, Coca Cola™ glasses are positioned on a table within a shot. This type of advertising is more acceptable to the consumer. However, due to an increasingly global market where television programs and films are shown around the world, this type of advertising has limitations. For example, an advertiser may only have paid to advertise their product in one country, or brands may differ between countries. Furthermore, this type of advertising has to be considered prior to recording the television program or films etc.
Embodiments of the invention seek to provide improved methods, including business processes and apparatus for placing advertising components in video material such as television programs or films etc.